This year, San Francisco Opera came out... to celebrate LGBT pride by marching in the SF Pride Parade. Adding this to our Rainbow Series Subscription, LGBT focused receptions and events, and the decoration of the opera house with rainbow lights, San Francisco Opera is proud to support our LGBT friends, family, and community. The whole group, including Tosca, five of Scarpia's henchmen, and the many volunteers who marched in the parade, was made up of SFO staff members, supernumeraries, bravo club members, and donors – a collaboration representative of the whole San Francisco Opera family.
Below are some photos from this exciting event.

Incest. Dragons. Bastard sons. Unexpected love stories. Girls disguised as boys. Why, George R.R. Martin took more than one page from opera when he created his epic series Game of Thrones! And so as we eagerly anticipate the premiere of season 4 on Sunday night, we at San Francisco Opera give you 15 Ways Opera is like Game of Thrones:

We sat down with San Francisco Opera Guild volunteer docent Timothy J. Muldoon to find out what it’s like leading tours of the War Memorial Opera House, how one keeps straight all the facts and figures and what are some of the most satisfying – and challenging – parts of the job.

How did you come to be an Opera Guild tour docent?
If you’re asking about my motivations for becoming a docent, there are three important ones:

The first time I walked into the Opera House I knew, without doubt, I was standing in the most beautiful building in San Francisco. After all these years, walking into the foyer and looking up at that magnificent vaulted ceiling still gives me chills. I wanted to be a part of that house, and leading tours gives me that opportunity in a very personal way.

We here at San Francisco Opera are often asked, "Who was that great singer who played so-and-so in that one opera you did a few years ago? I feel like I have seen them here before."

Our upcoming production of Falstaff features the San Francisco Opera debut of Italian baritone Fabio Capitanucci in the role of Ford, and is also the first time since 1995 that Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel will have graced the War Memorial stage (he was last seen in a gala concert for Charles Mackerras). In addition to these stars, the rest of the Falstaff cast is comprised of incredibly talented artists who have recently appeared on our stage.

For today's photo blog, we highlight each of the artists in Falstaff who has had past roles at San Francisco Opera. This way, when you see the production and think to yourself, "I feel like I've seen them somewhere before...," you'll impress your seatmates by knowing where. [All photos by Cory Weaver.]

With the arrival of the newest member of the British royal family, we here at San Francisco Opera decided to take a look at the members of nobility seen throughout opera to see what kind of lessons they could impart to the world's newest prince. Compiled here are a selection of lessons from twelve of our favorite operas that we think will serve the future king well.

Introduction

Backstage at San Francisco Opera is a fascinating, fast-moving, mysterious and sacred space for the Company’s singers, musicians, dancers, technicians and production crews. Musical and staging rehearsals are on-going, scenery is loaded in and taken out, lighting cues are set, costumes and wigs are moved around and everything is made ready to receive the audience. From the principal singers, chorus and orchestra musicians to the creative teams for each opera, in addition to the many talented folks who don’t take a bow on stage, this blog offers unique insight, both thought-provoking and light-hearted, into the life backstage at San Francisco Opera.